Child-welfare workers had heard rumors that a couple kept some of their 11 adopted children in cages two years before the youngsters were removed from the home, a witness testified in a custody hearing Tuesday. Officials tried to follow up on the rumors in 2003, but Michael and Sharen Gravelle would not cooperate and a full investigation was never conducted, said Jo Ellen Johnson, an investigator for the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services.The children were finally taken from the Gravelles after Johnson visited the home and examined the chicken-wire cages."They were piled one on top of another. It looked like a kennel," Johnson said.The Gravelles say they built enclosures with alarms where the children could sleep for their own protection. The children, ages 1 to 14, have health and behavioral problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and pica, a disorder in which children eat dirt.... http://www.foxnews.com

Hundreds of people arrested for minor crimes just before Hurricane Katrina washed away New Orleans' court system remain behind bars more than three months later. A team of volunteer defense lawyers has filed motions to have the arrestees set free. Some have never had a court appearance or been assigned a lawyer, said Rachel Jones, one of the volunteers. One New Orleans judge has been hearing the cases in a Baton Rouge courtroom, because New Orleans' courthouse is closed indefinitely. Judge Calvin Johnson ordered dozens of the prisoners released Tuesday, including one man who was arrested for public drunkenness Aug. 24 and given a 10-day sentence....http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1379786

The ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has threatened to stay away from his own trial, due to reconvene in Baghdad. Saddam told his judges to "go to Hell" at the end a second day of hearing emotional evidence from witnesses. One witness said she was detained when she was 16 and told the special Iraqi court that it destroyed her youth. Saddam Hussein and seven former aides deny murder charges over the 1982 killing of 148 Shia Muslims in Dujail. They could face the death penalty. The killings in Dujail, north of Baghdad, followed an attempt on Saddam Hussein's life. At the end of the hearing on Tuesday, the judge ruled that the court would reconvene on Wednesday to hear two more witnesses, overruling Saddam's lawyers' request for a longer break. The former leader then shouted at the judge: "I will not return, I will not come to an unjust court! Go to Hell!" ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4505406.stm

The Coast Guard rescued a Marine pilot Tuesday after his aircraft plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida.The Marine, who was in the water for more than four hours, was returned to Florida for medical treatment. The Coast Guard said the pilot was suffering from mild hypothermia, but he appeared to be in good condition. The U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier went into the water about 20 miles east of St. Augustine. Witnesses reported seeing a parachute deploy from the aircraft, and the pilot's wingman saw him eject, the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard and Navy began searching for survivors immediately....http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/06/marine.crash/index.html?section=cnn_us

Scientists studying the San Andreas fault in California will soon be able to monitor seismic activity from deep inside the Earth's crust so they can identify patterns that might foreshadow a major quake, scientists said on Tuesday. The Stanford-U.S. Geological Survey project is the first time geologists have dug deep below the Earth's surface to within tens of meters (yards) of an active fault zone to study earthquakes, Stanford University geologist Mark Zoback said at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union. "We've never been inside the fault zone before," said William Ellsworth, a principal investigator on the project for the U.S. Geological Survey. "The goal has been to understand the basic mechanics of faults," he said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1379708

Australian lawmakers have passed a raft of tough new counterterror laws that civil opponents warned will sweep away civil liberties.The laws let police and intelligence agencies detain terror suspects without charge for up to 14 days and control their movements -- including fitting them with electronic tags -- for a year.The law changes also gives police tougher powers to stop, search and seize evidence from suspects and clears the way for more close circuit television cameras to be used to monitor public places.Australian Greens leader Bob Brown condemned the laws Tuesday....http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/12/06/australia.terror.ap/index.html?section=cnn_world